Yahoo Finance

Prime Day deals kick off holiday sales for consumers

Consumers are shopping early for the holiday season, turning to retailers offering discounts, a recent CNET survey shows. Dashia Milden, CNET money editor, joins Wealth! host Brad Smith to discuss what the survey indicates about consumer behavior for the upcoming holiday season. “The majority of shoppers right now are planning on leaning on those early holiday sales. When we start thinking about [Amazon’s (AMZN)] Prime Day sales literally launching tomorrow. Target (TGT), Walmart (WMT), Best Buy (BBY), you name it,” Milden tells Yahoo Finance. On top of looking for deals, shoppers are also cutting down their holiday spending. “The majority of shoppers are shopping early to try to take advantage of some of those savings, and they're still making sacrifices. A percentage are spending less on non-essentials, such as travel and dining. People are setting smaller budgets, even and even choosing to go ahead and get fewer gifts. So when we start looking at that, it's very clear that the holidays are important and that they're willing to make some sacrifices in the meantime.” As far as savings tips, Milden says, “It really depends on what you're looking for,” but CNET’s shopping experts recommend “making sure that you are looking at the deals and comparing prices.” She adds that for October, shoppers may want to take advantage of deals on batteries ahead of the holidays. Some shoppers may find themselves tempted to buy products they see when scrolling social media, but Milden notes that these might not always be the best option. “It can be a really good deal depending on what you look for, but it could also be a slippery slope. So I just want to advise while it could be good to find that deal or find that really nice gadget, it can lead to a little bit of overspending and even debt. So just being mindful there.” For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Wealth! This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.